Introduction: Background to Afghanistan, its history and people -- British policy toward Afghanistan in the Nineteenth Century: the First Anglo-Afghan War -- British policy toward Afghanistan in the Nineteenth Century: the Second Anglo-Afghan War -- The reign of Abdur Rahman: Afghanistan as a "buffer state" -- The rise and fall of Amanullah: s lesson in modernization -- Nadir Shah and Hashim Khan: the dawn of Anglo-Afghan cooperation -- Afghanistan in the Second World War and the origins of the "Lancaster Plan" -- Afghanistan, British strategy, and the decision to partition India -- The transfer of power on the Northwest Frontier and the origins of the "Pushtunistan" dispute -- The strategic ramifications of the partition of India for Britain, the successor states, and Afghanistan -- The Truman Administration and American policy in South Asia -- The Eisenhower Administration's defense program and the decision for alliance with Pakistan -- The Truman Administration and Afghanistan: the Helmand Valley Project, Pushtunistan, and military aid -- The Eisenhower Administration, and the alliances -- Mohammed Daoud, the Soviet-Afghan Agreement, and the road to war, 1955-1979 --Summary and conclusion.